May I see your peepers, madam?

By Jade MillerQuailBellMagazine.com

As every Quail Bell(e) knows, the field of beauty products is constantly changing, updating, and modernizing its merchandise to capitalize on the newest trends and latest looks. However, one staple in every girl’s vanity stand defies that standard and truly embodies the saying ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.’

By Christine Stoddard

In its most basic form, an eyelash curler is a beauty tool with a rubber strip between two pieces of metal that is applied to the upper eyelashes and squeezed in order to crimp and curl the lashes. The eyelash curler was patented April 7, 1931 and the images drawn in the patent application look very much the same as the eyelash curlers seen on the market today. Originally called Rodal, the brand smartly changed the product’s name to Kurlash.

In today's modern society, the eyelash curler generally appears as a beauty staple on fashion shows like “Project Runway” or “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as well as on sitcoms, like in the intro for the pilot of “Whitney.” To the men who produce television shows, the eyelash curler seems to represent the lengths a woman will go to in order to make herself beautiful.

However, the eyelash curler is really just a simple tool, a cog in the beauty machine, essentially the same as a razor is to a man. The debate in most beauty blogs now is not if a woman should use one, but which brand should gain her loyalty. Shu Uemura and Shiseido, two companies that have basically the same product, are at the center of the debate. Which one a woman chooses comes down to personal preference (and perhaps price) as well as how she curls her lashes.

The Shiseido is lighter than the Shu, which can have an effect on how hard someone curls the lashes by overcompensating for the heavy weight, giving a heavier crimp as opposed to a gentler squeeze. The Shu is a bit wider than the Shiseido and thus can result in pinching to get to those lashes on the very ends of the lids, which can hurt on the sensitive skin of the eyelid. Still, the Shu and the Shiseido both give a good curl, but if a longer lasting curl is the aim, the Shu is the way to go.

A multitude of differences stand between being a woman in the 1930s and being a woman in the 2010s. In a constantly changing world where things can be worrisome or uncertain, it is good to know that some things always stay the same.